Search 1BN

Subscribe to this blog

Subscribe by Email

1BlessedNatural Feature: Anisha

Hey, my name is Anisha. I am a UK born and raised lady with Ugandan
heritage. I am a wife, mother of 3 and psychology graduate who has a passion
for God, Deaf studies and Sign Language, as well as Veganism.

1. What made you decide to go natural? Initially, I was just fed up of going to the hairdressers, and waiting for ages just to get my scalp burnt. I literally ended up with burns after every relaxer. I just felt that it was time consuming and didn’t feel as though it was worth it. With 2 children at the time, I just didn’t feel like relaxed hair was for me, especially as my daughter had turned just 3 and was beginning to notice the difference in our hair. I felt as though it was important for me to embrace my hair, as it would impact her in the future. A year before going natural, I had stumbled upon LHCF where I saw so many beautiful ladies (both relaxed and natural), I incorporated many healthy practices in my hair regimen and my hair thrived growing to BSL (Bra Strap Length) before I big chopped. 2. What were your friends and loved ones' reactions to your decision? My husband loved it; he was my number 1 motivated and actually did my big chop for me. The next day, he took me to his barbers to get it neatened up and faded. My kids were too little to care, I think they just vibed off my excitement. I think my mum was in the most shock and lost for words because it was so spur of the moment; it wasn’t a planned big chop. The day before she had seen me with long relaxed hair and she came home to find me with a fade. I hadn’t told her, as I didn’t want her or anyone to talk me out of it. Most of my white colleagues loved it and complimented me, however my black colleagues were a little confused and asked whether I had cut my hair because it was damaged. They genuinely thought something had gone wrong. I think it was hard for them to grasp that I just wanted to embrace my natural hair.

3. What is your current hair routine? Generally I wash my hair once a week (whether its in a protective style or not), otherwise my scalp gets really itchy. Most times I do a hot oil treatment before I shampoo. I shampoo using an all-natural shampoo bar. Sometimes I wash with my Apple cider vinegar. I do not use a rinse out conditioner as my shampoo is really moisturising, however the apple cider vinegar does a good job of leaving my hair moisturized. I dry my hair using a t-shirt and apply a leave in conditioner and then seal in the moisture with my homemade Shea Butter mix. I protective style 99% of the time and moisturize my hair every 2-3 days depending on the weather and the style that I am wearing. I deep condition once a month and do a light protein treatment every 3-6 months.

Anisha's bun with braided headband

4. What is your favorite hairstyle? My favorite hairstyle is two strand twists. I love my loose twists because they are a protective style, which last me up to 6 weeks. It allows me to leave my hair alone. Also, they can be manipulated into any style without worrying about knots and tangling. 5. What are your 3 favorite hair products? That’s easy :-) My moisturising shampoo bar, Giovanni Direct Leave in and my homemade Shea Butter mix. 6. What is the most important thing that you have learned about going natural?There is no one rule fits all with natural hair – you have to experiment within reason to see what works best for your hair. During my natural hair journey, I have come across a lot of naturals who will tell you what you should and shouldn’t do, I would say that the natural hair community is a wonderful resource BUT all its important to remember that it is YOUR natural hair journey.

Anisha's twist-out

7. What advice do you have for someone who is thinking about going natural? I would say, “go for it!” It’s one of the best decisions that I ever made and I hope you will feel the same. Natural hair is not easy breezy but it certainly is what God gave you so why not embrace it. Our hair is beautiful, whether its kinks or Curls- its all beautiful.

Say cheese! Another pic of Anisha's twist-out

8. Where can we find you online?

You can find me on my YouTube channel – naturallyinspired11

I try to put out videos as often as I can and I also accept requests. I am also available for business inquiries at naturallyinspired@gmail.com .

Go Anisha! If you would like to be featured on 1BlessedNatural Mag, visit the Be Featured! page.

Izea

Popular Posts

Tamar Braxton is bald and "finally free"! Yesterday, the singer posted a video of her hair being shaved off her head on Instagram. She said she was tired of wigs and weaves. The 40-year-old explained that she no longer wanted to be a slave to her and other people's opinions. She said, "WE can choose to stop these things from having power and victory over us!! And for me, that stars TODAY."
We hear you, Tamar! The fact that many women feel like they cannot leave the house without a wig or weave was discussed in a past episode of Being Mary Janewhen Mary Jane, played by Gabrielle Union. M.J. said she didn't want to leave the house without her weave. Tamar Braxton and Mary Jane's thoughts are very common among women when it comes to their hair and makeup.

In their recent report, the market research company Mintel Group Ltd. reported that Black women spent 1.7 billion dollars on beauty products last year in the U.S. Of course, a lot of these products inclu…

Naturally blonde hair is often associated with white or Caucasian people. However, there are groups of dark skin people who have naturally blonde hair also. Some of these groups include the Aboriginal Australians (Aborigines) and the Melanesians. I love this fact because it goes against the idea that one group or culture must look a certain way or stay in a certain category.

The Aborigines have dark skin. Some of them also have blonde hair which tends to be straight, but can be curly. Scientists first believed they were descendants of Eurasians. In 2011, scientists found evidence against the theory from a sample of natural hair. The sample of hair, which was said to be more than 100 years old, helped scientists determine that Aborigines were descendants of Africans. The New York Times confirmed this finding:

"The Aborigines are thus direct descendants of the first modern humans to
leave Africa, without any genetic mixture from other races so far as
can be seen at present. Thei…

Lisa Arrindell Anderson has acted in several movies including " Livin' Large","A Lesson Before Dying", "Disappearing Acts", and "Madea's Family Reunion". She has also played in many television shows and plays. This week I was blessed with the privilege of interviewing her about her lovely tresses.

When we talk about the topic of natural hair, we often talk about African-Americans or Black people perming their hair to look more like Caucasian or straight hair. But, what about people of other races attempting to make their hair kinky or textured like that of African-Americans? Afro perms, along with other Black hairstyles have been a long time trend in Asia.

Because Asian hair grows naturally straight, the afro perm gives the hair a textured look. The afro perm is not an actual relaxer or perm kit, it's the use of perm rods to make the hair curly. The beautypot.com says, "An afro perm is made by not straightening the hair. It is made by
creating hair bonds that make the hair curl. The hair stylist makes
the hair into a new shape, using perming rods or rollers, and allows
the new shape to develop."

In addition, the Asian hair trends have also been greatly influenced by African braids, extensions, dreads, and cornrows. My visit to www.Afrohair.netwas fille…

Updated 8/24/2017 - Check out Part 2 for a simpler regimen to reverse protein overload!

Happy Monday, my blessed naturals!
I hope you all are having a great week. Many of you have been asking about my experience with protein overload. Because I was writing the previous protein overload articles while I was going through it, I decided to do a follow-up article to include my regimen. This one should pull all of the information of my regimen together and hopefully answer many of your questions. If you still have questions, just let me know in the comments or form on the right side of this page.

1. Realization of experiencing protein overload: My hair was hard, dry, brittle, and stiff (like hay). It's curl pattern was gone and my ends were split. It seemed like my hair changed suddenly, but I now realize that it had grown a bit rougher after each wash. I realized that I'd done too many protein treatments on my hair in a short period of time.

Fans of the beloved Bernie Mac Show got a real treat yesterday when the cast posted pictures of their reunion on social media. Camille Winbush who played Vanessa "Nessa" Thomkins on the syndicated show said, "Excuse me while I have a moment with my family." She posted a photo of herself, Kellita Smith who played Aunt Wanda, Jeremy Suarez who played Jordan Thomkins, and the youngest of them all, Dee Dee Davis who played Bryana "Baby Girl" Thomkins.
Even though the cast is about 12 years older they all still look the same. Beautiful and handsome! I think Smith must be a vampire LOL because she hasn't aged a bit. Jordan and Baby Girl grew up on us! I feel old.

Kellita Smith ( Z Nation) is 49 years old. Camille Winbush (The Secret Life of An American Teenager) is now 28 years old, Jeremy Suarez is 27 years old, and Dee Davis is 22 years old.

The Bernie Mac Show fans were happy to see the cast but couldn't forget the most important person on the show. B…

Happy Tuesday everyone!
Today I am introducing a segment called "1BlessedNatural Myth Busters." I will be debunking common myths about natural hair.

Myth #1: Baby Oil is good for my hair.

1BN: Baby Oil is not good for hair because it contains an ingredient called mineral oil. Although mineral oil is often used in hair and skin products, it is not a good thing to put in your hair. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines mineral oil as "an oil of mineral origin; especially: a refined petroleum oil used especially as a laxative." Mineral oil is also found in petroleum jelly. It is not a moisturizer. If you apply mineral oil to dry hair, your hair will look shiny but it will be dry underneath. If you apply the product to your hair, you cannot apply a moisturizer on top of it, because it will lock out the moisture. You will need to wash your hair before applying another product that will moisturize your hair.

Happy Saturday, my blessed naturals,
Last time, I told you that I was experiencing breakage with my natural hair and was going to do a protein treatment. Two protein treatments later lol, I'm here to tell you about my 2nd time with moisture overload.

What is Going On?
When I did my last protective style, my hair was very dry and brittle. It was breaking off in little pieces. My hair also had a mushy and light feeling even after being moisturized. I started thinking about my diet (which wasn't the best) and my water intake. However, it was weird that my hair just changed its texture in a matter of 1 week. As a result, my hair was taken down and washed. Then, I deep conditioned with the ORS Hair Mayonnaise. I usually do this every 2 months. However, the last time I did a protein treatment was around Easter. It was too soon to have to do it again. Plus I had to clip my ends recently which I usually don't have to do often. The bottom line is I knew something was up! My hair …

Over the last couple of days, there's been a photo circulating on social media of a person wearing cornrows with a bloody scalp. Viewers have been resharing the photo as a cautionary tale about wearing tight braids.

Wearing tight braids and other styles, especially for long periods of time can put too much stress on your hair follicles, damaging them and causing traction alopecia. This means that you will experience balding in the affected areas.

Many of us in the Black hair community have sat in braiding salons getting those neat and tootight braids, but they are not worth it! In the pic above you can see the person's scalp is swollen in some areas.

When I was 5 or 6 years old, a family friend was braiding my hair in cornrows. I felt a tingling sensation on the right side of my head and when I touched it, I saw that it was bleeding.

The friend got a towel and begin dabbing the area. After calling my grandmother, she removed the braids. I don't remember if she finished …

*Correction 7/23/2014- The product that I tried was Fluocinolone Acetonide Topical Oil which is the generic version of Derma-Smoothe F/S.

Happy Wednesday, my blessed naturals!
Back in December of last year, I made you all aware that I was battling Seborrheic Dermatitis. Seborrheic Dermatitis is a chronic scalp condition where your scalp produces a large amount of natural oil (sebum). As a result, big wax-like flakes or dandruff form. It can cause your scalp to be red and itchy. I've tried several natural remedies including Tea-Tree Oil, Tea-Tree Oil shampoos, oils, and regular honey. My doctor prescribed Derma-Smooth/FS Fluocinolone Acetonide Topical Oil along with a shampoo and foam.

This weekend, I finally got a chance to try the Derma-Smooth/FS Scalp Oil Fluocinolone Acetonide Topical Oil . I applied a thin layer to my scalp, and then put on a plastic cap. I left the oil on my scalp for a little more than 4 hours. Afterwards, I washed my hair twice with a shampoo. I was sure t…